Adjustable retaining band and hose clamp



April 6, 1954 G. B. ,ISAACS 2,674,020

ADJUSTABLE RETAINING BAND AND HOSE CLAMP Filed June 14, 1952 650265 B. lsnnczs;

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY- Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE RETAINING BAND AND HOSE CLAMP George B. Isaacs, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application June 14, 1952, Serial No. 293,589

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates generally to a; hose clamp and particularly describes such a device including a metal band of adjustable length adapted to encircle and grasp a supporting structure such as a me extinguisher or the like.

' Although my invention finds advantageous application when used in conjunction with a fire extinguisher of the tank type, and will be so principally described herein, it will be evident that other uses may be made of the device and are within the contemplation'of the invention. As is well known, fire extinguishers of the tank type are customarily provided with a relatively large body portion, often cylindrical in shape and containing the fire' extinguishing fluid. Many fire extinguishers include a hose or horn con nected' to the extinguisher proper by a portion of flexible conduit, and by manipulating the hose or horn in a desired direction the user may efficiently direct the fire extinguishing fluid on the flames.

The hose or horn above referred to is desirably r'e'movably clamped to the body portion of the fir'eextinguisher proper by means preventing accidental dislodgment of the hose and yet providing for easy and quick disengagement in case of emergency. The clamping means for retaining. the hose or horn in position normally includes ametal strap or band encircling the body of the:

extinguisher; This band is subject to corrosive and other deleterious effects from exposure to the elements as well as from occasional contact with the fire extinguishing fluid. Replacement of the band at periodical intervals is thus made necessary. The band must of course grip the body portion of the extinguisher tightly inorder that the hose clamp and the horn held therein be maintained in the desired position. Since fire extinguishers vary appreciably from one another in their outer circumferences, it is. highly desirable that a metal strapor band to be used as a replacement in periodical'servicing of the extinguishers be adjustable as'to length. Storage of parts is thus facilitated; as" only a few different sizes of clamp and band assemblies need be stocked in order to satisfactorily fit extinguishers of widely varying dimensions.

The metal band or strap and interlocking hose clamp of the present invention are particularly well adapted for use, as above described, in the periodical replacement of such bands on fire extinguishers having non-uniform circumferences, and the invention has for its principal purpose the provision of apparatus for removably clamping a fire extinguisher hose or horn in,- cluding a retaining band of adjustable length.

5 extending ports 36 and 31.

A further object is to disclose such a device wherein the retaining band includes a number of spaced ports and the hose clamp proper is provided with elements lockable with selected. ports in the band.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which is reliable and convenient in use and yet comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects, purposes and advantages of the invention will become clear from a reading of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the same taken in connection with the accomp'anying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a manually actuated fire extinguisher of conventional type with an adjustable retaining strap and hose clamp of my invention attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the horizontal plane II-II of. Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hose clamp and a portion of the metal retaining strap of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the hose clamp taken angu-l'a'rly from the rear thereof.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of both ends of the metal retaining strap or band of my invention as they appear when brought into proximity with each other.

InFig. 1 is shown a fire extinguisher indicated generally at H; and including, as is conventional, a substantially cylindrically formed body portion terminating at its upper end in an outlet valve indicated generally at l2 including a manually actuable lever or handle 54. As will be understood, fiuid within extinguisher l [I is under pressure, and actuation of handle I4 is arranged to permit discharge of the pressure fluid through flexible hose or conduit t6 into the smaller end l8' handle I' l are not shown in detail since they are conventional in every respect, are well known in the art and their details of construction form no part of the present invention.

Encircling the cylindrical body portion of fire extinguisher I6 is a longitudinal strap or band of flexible metal indicated generally at 30. As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the strap 36 includes at one end an upstanding flange 32, and formed in flange 32 is an opening or aperture 34 (see Fig. 5).

At the end of strap as distant from flange 32 there is provided a series of pairs of transversely Each of the pairs of ports is in vertical alignment, and each pair of ports is longitudinally spaced from the adjacent pair of ports. Although only four pairs of ports are shown herein, it will be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such number and a larger number may be provided in order to achieve greater adjustability in the use of the present device.

A metal clip or clamp indicated generally at 40 is preferably made substantially U-shaped as best appears in Figs. 2 and 4. Hose clamp 40 is formed of resilient metal and is provided with a relatively flat base 42. A pair of vertically aligned prongs 4B and 41 are formed in base 42 as by a lancing operation or the like. Prongs 46 and 41 are displaced rearwardly away from the base 42 and the major portions of the prongs lie in a plane parallel to and spaced from base 42 by the thickness of strap 30. Integrally formed with base 42 is a pair of side walls 58 and 52 extending substantially perpendicular to base 42. Adjacent their outer ends side walls 50 and 52 include converging portions 54 and 5% respectively and diverging outermost edges 58 and 60 respectively. Substantially centrally of wall 50 there is provided an opening or hole 62.

When assembling the hose clamp and retaining strap of my invention with a fire extinguisher or other similar supporting structure, flanged prongs 46 and 41 are inserted into a selected pair of the ports 35 and 31, in such a way that the ends of prongs 46 and 41 are directed toward the adjacent end of metal strap 33. The strap is then positioned to encircle fire extinguisher l0, and upstanding flange 32 is brought into contact with side wall 50 of clamp 40. It will be noted that the centrally disposed aperture 34 of flange 32 registers with the opening 62 formed in side wall 50, and suitable fastening means such as threaded screw extends through opening 34 and opening 82 and carries a threaded nut 12 to retain the parts in assembled relation. The resilience of the metal of clamp 4!] permits base 42 to bend slightly when the parts are assembled, so that base 42 adapts itself to the curvature of the outer wall of tank If).

Metal band 35 may be easily and rapidly adjusted to grasp extinguisher Ill tightly by insertion of prongs 45 and 4? into any desired pair of ports 36 and 31, so that the effective length of strap 39 may be chosen to correctly fit extinguishers of varying circumference. The end of strap 3!! beyond the particular pair of ports used in a given installation lies beneath the base 42 of hose clamp 40 and if long enough extends between the outer surface of the fire extinguisher and the inner surface of the metal strap 30.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the inwardly converging portions 54 and 5B of the clamp 40 are spaced somewhat closer together than the outside diameter of the fluid directing horn 29. Thus the horn may be securely retained by clamp 4|] by reason of contact between the horn and the converging portions 54 and 56.

At the same time, the resilience of the side walls permits the horn to be immediately withdrawn for use. Similarly when inserting the horn into the clamp, the outwardly diverging edge portions 58 and 60 of the respective side walls 50 and 52 spring the side walls open and guide the horn into clamped position.

Although a diverging born 20 having a frustoconical shape has been here shown and described for use with my invention, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to such use. A relatively rigid hose or conduit of cylindrical section is frequently provided as the fluid directing means for a fire extinguisher, and the present retaining strap and clamp are equally well adapted for use with that type of hose or conduit. It will also be observed that the side walls of the hose clamp proper may be spaced apart to releasably clamp a hose or horn of any given diameter. Thus only a small number of different size clamps and of different length retaining straps need be maintained in availability in order to service fire extinguishers having widely varying tank sizes and hose or horn diameters.

Minor modifications and changes from the specific embodiment of the invention herein described will occur to those skilled in the art. All such modifications and changes not departing from the spirit of the invention are intended to be embraced within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An adjustable metal band and hose clamp adapted for use on tank type fire extinguishers and the like, which comprises: a longitudinal strap of flexible metal provided with an upstanding flange at one end and a plurality of transversely extending, spaced aligned pairs of ports adjacent the opposite end of said strap, each pair of ports being longitudinally spaced from the other pairs of ports; a U-shaped resilient metal clamp provided with a relatively flat base and a pair of spaced integrally formed side walls extending generally perpendicularly to said base, the base being lanced to form a pair of prongs spaced to enter a selected pair of ports in the strap; and fastening means for releasably connecting the upstanding flange of said strap to a side wall of said clamp at a point spaced from the juncture of the wall and base whereby the angle formed by the wall and base of the resilient clamp is effectively interposed in the effective length of the strap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

